Write Essay Describing Someone In Spanish

You’ve lost your travel companion and you’re checking out local establishments to see if he’s there. You attempt to ask the shop owners and various locals if they’ve seen him.

You’re desperate to find him, but how successful would you be at describing him? Would this just be an awkward game of Charades?

Besides internalizing Spanish verb conjugations and Spanish adverbs, one of the most basic lessons that comes up when studying the Spanish language revolves around how to describe someone in Spanish. This includes physical descriptors, words to describe emotion, vocabulary for body parts and even the clothing they wear.

Learning how to describe someone in Spanish covers a wide range of terms, but it’s a fundamental lesson for navigating more complicated discussions. The implications of being able to have a multifaceted conversation in Spanish about a person may mean the difference between finding them now or reconnecting much later in the night.

Crazy hypothetical situations aside, there are many times when knowing the ins and outs of describing someone in Spanish will come in handy.

We’ll take you through the entire process, starting with knowing the right verb to start with!

Describing People in Spanish in 5 Easy Steps

1. Decide Whether to Use Ser or Estar

It’s easy to get confused when trying to determine when to use the verbs ser or estar to describe someone. Both mean “to be,” but each refers to different states of being.

Use estar when:

Talking about temporary states (like emotions)

Talking about where something physically is

Use ser when:

Describing traits of people or things

Describing where someone is from (origin)

Talking about relationships between people

Describing a person’s occupation

Talking about the time

Now that you know when to use ser and estar, we’re going to show you lots of examples in the sections that follow.

2. Learn Basic Spanish Physical Descriptors

One of the easiest ways to describe someone is by their physical attributes.

Though being too honest might not make you any friends, you can use height and weight as the most basic method of describing someone in Spanish. For example, if you’re referring to a short and fat girl, you might say, “La chica es baja y gorda.” A tall and skinny boy? “El chico es alto y flaco.”

Here are the basic words you’ll need to know:

Tall — alto/alta

Short — bajo/baja

Skinny — flaco/flaca

Thin — delgado/delgada

Fat — gordo/gorda

Besides height and weight, you could also refer to a person’s physical description in terms of their:

Physical appearance, like if they have something that sets them apart from others. You might refer to a person as having a dimple (un hoyuelo) or mole (un lunar).

When it comes to colors, it’s important to know not only the basic words for ROYGBIV (the first letter of each of the colors of the rainbow) but also colors as they help to describe a person’s hair color:

Blonde — rubio

Brown — moreno

Red — pelirrojo

Of course, a person’s hair type will also set them apart from others:

Curly — rizado

Straight — lacio

Wavy — ondulado

Long hair — pelo largo

Short hair — pelo corto

No hair? Él es calvo (He is bald) will get the point across!

Eye colors tend to be the same as their ROYGBIV counterparts, but there are some distinct colors to learn:

For a further study on the topic, here are some common descriptors you might find useful.

3. Factor in Emotion in Your Description

Besides physical descriptors, you might opt to describe someone based on their emotions.

Consider the following terms for how to describe someone in Spanish based on their emotions, listed alphabetically for easy reference:

Angry — enfadado/enfadada

Anxious — ansioso/ansiosa

Ashamed — avergonzado/avergonzada

Bored — aburrido/aburrida

Busy — ocupado/ocupada

Comfortable — cómodo/cómoda

Confused — confundido/confundida

Delighted — encantado/encantada

Depressed — deprimido/deprimida

Desperate — desesperado/desesperada

Excited — emocionado/emocionada

Frustrated — frustrado/frustrada

Frightened — asustado/asustada

Furious — furioso/furiosa

Happy — alegre, feliz

Hurt — dolido/dolida

In love — enamorado/enamorada

Insecure — inseguro/insegura

Impatient — impaciente

Jealous — celoso/celosa

Nervous — nervioso/nerviosa

Overwhelmed — agobiado/agobiada

Patient — paciente

Pleased — contento/contenta

Proud — orgulloso/orgullosa

Relaxed — relajado/relajada

Relieved — aliviado/aliviada

Restless — inquieto/inquieta

Sad — triste

Satisfied — satisfecho/satisfecha

Sensitive — sensible

Shy — tímido/tímida

Surprised — sorprendido/sorprendida

Thankful — agradecido/agradecida

Tired — cansado/cansada

Uncomfortable — incómodo/incómoda

Unhappy — infeliz

Worried — preocupado/preocupada

4. Get Specific by Knowing the Names of Body Parts

Trying to describe the average Joe in a sea of average Joes might prove to be a little difficult. If you want to get really specific with physical descriptors, you might consider learning Spanish vocabulary related to different body parts. Does your friend have a tattoo on his arm? A cut on his forehead? Knowing the words to convey that will significantly increase your chances of finding him!

Alternatively, knowing body parts also helps if you’re trying to convey that you’re feeling a lot of pain! So if you haven’t invested in a good medical Spanish phrasebook, you need to know this terminology!

For example, say you need to tell a doctor or pharmacist that your head hurts. You would have to know the word for “head” and be able to say, “Me duele la cabeza.” (You might be tempted to say “Me duele mi cabeza”, but doler is one of those tricky Spanish verbs and this doesn’t translate properly in Spanish. Condition yourself to resist this temptation.)

On a lighter note, you can also use these words for describing someone in Spanish when you’re flirting, or maybe just being nice. For instance, if you wanted to tell someone you like their eyes, you’d say, “Me gustan tus ojos.”

You never know when being able to say the following terms for body parts might come in handy:

Head — cabeza

Hair — pelo

Face — cara

Eye — ojo

Cheek— mejilla

Nose — nariz

Mouth — boca

Lips — labios

Stomach — estómago

Arm — brazo

Hand — mano

Finger — dedo

Nail — uña

Leg — pierna

Foot — pie

5. Translate Clothing Items to Spanish

The last element to consider when describing someone in Spanish is clothing.

Remember that when you describe an article of clothing by color, it’s subject to masculine/feminine rules (as are the other adjectives in this guide). When using colors as an adjective, you have to make sure that the colors agree with the number and gender of the noun they’re describing.

If you wanted to describe someone you saw on the street by their clothing, you could translate “He was wearing a green jacket” to “Llevaba una chaqueta verde.”

Consider the following terms for describing someone in Spanish by their clothing:

Basic articles of clothing

Pants — pantalones

Jeans — vaqueros (which also translates to “cowboy” in Spanish.)

Shirt — camisa

T-shirt – camiseta

Blouse — blusa

Suit — traje

Dress — vestido

Skirt — falda

Cold weather clothes

Sweater — suéter/jersey

Jacket — chaqueta

Coat — abrigo

Raincoat — impermeable

Gloves — guantes

Scarf — bufanda

Hat (rimmed) — sombrero

Hat (baseball) — gorra

Beanie (knit cap) — gorro

Footwear – calzado

Shoes — zapatos

Boots — botas

Socks — calcetines

Accessories – accesorios

Belt — cinturón

Jewelry — joyas

Watch — reloj

Being able to describe someone/something in Spanish can help immensely when it comes to conversation, or even in more pressing situations where identification and clear communication is important in seeking the desired response.

Be sure to make flashcards of these words to prepare for your next trip abroad!

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If this general rule is too vague for you, think of the acronym DOT. Ser is used for:

Descriptions of a person or thing

Origins of a person or thing

Time

In this article we'll take a look at the D in DOT: Descriptions. Let's get started!

Descriptions with Ser

Ser is used for all permanent/long-term and personal descriptions. You can use ser to answer the question How would you describe ____?

In other words, ser is used with the essential qualities that define a person or thing and that are not likely to change in the near future. These can be names, physical descriptions, occupations, personal relationships, and religion, among others.

Names

They are Adela and Amalia.

Physical Descriptions

Silviaespelirroja y baja.

Silvia is red-headed and short.

Occupations

Soyprofesora de español.

Personal Relationships

Religion

My parents are Buddhists.

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While both ser and estar can translate to to be in English, they aren't interchangeable in Spanish.